Could a song by Jay-Z and Kanye West help improve the image of French presidential candidate Francois Hollande?

Story highlights

French candidate Francois Hollande stars in an online video with a profanity-laced rap song

The song, "N**gas in Paris," is by Jay-Z and Kanye West

Hollande's aide said it's not a campaign video, but she likes it

Analysts say the effort could help improve his image, but it could also backfire

Jay-Z and Kanye West's recent hit "Niggas in Paris" is about them. They rap about being so phenomenally rich, about how they "ball so hard," buy Rolexes and cars, pop gold bottles with models in Paris nightclubs, that the rest of us slobs couldn't fathom their lives.

It may seem like an odd choice for a campaign song for a politician trying to appeal to oppressed racial and ethnic minorities.

But it's apparently working for -- or at least not hurting -- Francois Hollande. The French Socialist eked out a win last Sunday in the first round of presidential voting to decide who will run France for the next five years. He will face President Nicolas Sarkozy in a run-off May 6.

"Got my niggas in Paris, and they going gorillas," West raps as Hollande is shown leading discussions between men in suits and then talking to voters of multiple races and ages. Crowds in the street and the subway smile excitedly as Hollande approaches them.

Supporters raise their voter cards to the camera. A man shouts, "To hell with Sarko!" - a common shorthand reference to Sarkozy.

How cartoons impact French politics

MUST WATCH

JUST WATCHED

France's economic envy

MUST WATCH

A lyric in Jay-Z and Kanye's song sounds like "Creil," which is pronounced "cray," although the context suggests they mean "crazy."

Although the video appeared to be a campaign advertisement, the Hollande campaign denied producing it.

Hollande's video is edgy, has a good beat and shows people having a good time: all the ingredients for successful marketing. So what if it uses a racial slur, not to mention frequent profane and sexually degrading language?

The consumer behavior researcher said the song's racial slur is universally offensive. Using it, or being perceived as tacitly endorsing it, could backfire for Hollande.

"In France, 'negro' is definitely defamatory," he said. "It isn't a matter of whether or not minority Parisians or suburbanites are even able to make the translation."

The video has more than 300,000 YouTube views since its April 10th posting and has made numerous international headlines.

Hollande's campaign ad could be considered a form of ethnic or multicultural marketing.

The term generally refers to a kind of advertising that emerged several decades ago in the West. The idea was that in order to stay competitive, businesses had to pay greater attention to minorities' growing ability to buy. One example is McDonald's "I'm Lovin It!" campaign from a few years ago, which used hip-hop beats and more black and Latino actors in commercials to sell more burgers.

But translating this marketing technique to politics is tricky, Angell said.

He points to what became known as British Prime Minister David Cameron's "Hug a Hoodie" campaign in 2006. The Conservative leader was widely mocked when he urged politicians to try to understand what drove boys to wear hooded sweatshirts and to break the law. Other lawmakers roasted him, giving it the dismissive "Hug a Hoodie" name. Media pundits laughed it off, too.

"Cameron attempted to endear himself to this group, and their parents, by arguing that society cared," Angell said.

It didn't work because there was too much of a gap between the elite leaders of the country and the hooded youth for the latter group to feel like the gesture was sincere, Angell said.

In that respect, the Hollande video could be another toxic drop in a cauldron of already boiling tensions in Europe, France in particular.

It comes on the heels of an Amnesty International report that said Muslims in Europe face discrimination in education, employment and religious freedom, and as France's economy is limping due to a 12-year high unemployment rate and broader economic problems across the EU.

When he first ran for president in 2005, he said that he'd like to wash out the suburbs "with a power hose." This year, Sarkozy was blasted for saying France has "too many foreigners" and vowing to limit benefits to legal migrants.

Shortly after he won his first term, riots erupted in Parisian suburbs. Roving gangs of young people clashed with police. Sarkozy called the rioters "scum," wording that his critics said didn't help the situation but only drove frustrated French further toward the edge.

In 2007, there was another, reportedly far worse outbreak of violence in the suburbs. Cars were torched, as was a car dealership and a library. More than 60 police officers were injured. Two teens on a motorcycle, both sons of African immigrants, were killed when their vehicle collided with a police car. That incident further enraged residents, particularly in the immigrant community.

"How do you get young non-white people to vote for you when you're a middle-aged balding white man? François Hollande has the answer," the post said. "Take a popular song by two famous U.S. rap stars. Film yourself surrounded by black and Arab voters who say 'big up.' Change your name to initials only. Get some Final Cut whiz kid to paste it all together with a load of fast-forward and zoom. Set up a YouTube account with the word 'crew' in it.

"The suburbs isn't only hooded youths who lap up American subculture and watch too much TV," France24 quotes a newspaper reader as saying. "There are also engineers, researchers, police officers and teachers here."